Moderate Progressive Front of Valerijk
Moderate Progressive Front of Valerijk Gematigd Progressief Front van Valerijk | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | GPF |
| Leader | Carlos Marin |
| Founders | Willem Koes Vicente Liese Emiel Santos |
| Founded | 1879 |
| Split from | Valerijk Emancipation Party Valerijk Libertarians |
| Headquarters | Aelberhaven, Moderhaven |
| Ideology | Progressive conservatism Valrijkian regionalism Liberal conservatism Positivism Vistari unionism |
| Political position | Centre to centre-right |
| National affiliation | None, Cooperate with (but independent from) the Civic Allinace |
| Colours | Pale Blue |
| Slogan | "Voorwaarts, als Eén" (Forwards, as One) |
| States-General | 30 / 360
|
The Moderate Progressive Front of Valerijk (Vistarian: Gematigd Progressief Front van Valerijk, GPF), colloquially referred to as simply the Moderate Progressives, is a liberal-conservative and regionalist party in Valerijk. While not participating in elections to the Imperial Parliamentary Council, the party has remained a notable force in Valrijkian regional politics. Alongside the centre-left Valerijk Emancipation Party, the Moderate Progressives have consolidated substantial power within the Nieuw Molensland region - having been able to garner a larger support base than federal parties in a number of provinces.
The party was formed in 1879 by moderate conservative and unionist elements within the liberal-dominated Valerijk Emancipation Party and Valrijkian wing of the Libertarian Party. While retaining the Emancipation Party's strong belief in securing Valerijk additional privileges and freedoms within the Vistari Keizerrijk, its founders opposed the alleged entrance of radical, pro-independence elements into the party. Backed by several disaffected members of the Emancipation Party and Libertarians, the Moderate Progressives asserted themselves as a "common-sense alternative" to both their former parties as well as the Conservative-Ademarist Union. This was done through a uniquely centre-right platform for the time which combined conventionally progressive and conservative policies. The party opposed radical reform and independence while also criticizing the conventional Political Ademarism which had dominated Vistari conservative circles.
Becoming a large political force within Valerijk shortly following its inception, the Moderate Progressives stood out as being able to reliably garner support from a multi-ethnic and multi-faith voter base - setting themselves apart from their rivals on the right by championing policies on a practical and moral basis instead of relying on justifications based on religion. Several historians of Valerijk have argued on whether the party advocated a more palatable brand of secularism in its early years, however general consensus on the subject denies the Moderate Progressives were secularist in nature. Academic examination tends towards the assertion that the party did not wish to oppose the key role religion had in the lives of Valerijkians, but rather imparted a Positivist approach to legislation in order to appeal to a multi-faith society. This platform did however work against the party in some regions, especially within rural communities of Valerosa - where devout Ademarists and Tunseists would hold onto power to the detriment of the often-ruling Emancipation and Moderate Progressive parties.
Despite considerable setbacks due to the encroachment of Empire-wide political parties and general discontentment with the Nieuw Molenser establishment across the country, the Moderate Progressives have managed to continue their prominence in Valerijk's domestic politics, winning 30 of the 360 seats in the 2021 Valerijkian legislative election - the largest for a single party. This has partially been attested to new leadership, with the party having been led by Carlos Marin since 2020, a member of the party's liberal-leaning centre. Under Marin, the Moderate Progressives negotiated an informal cooperation agreement with the Civic Alliance to maintain and affirm the party's status in Valerijk, forgoing the ventures into federal politics undertaken by their historical rivals in the Valerijk Emancipation Party.